Nov 18, 2010

I see your marketing budget was put to good use. Who would have thought a million Kinect's would be sold in 10 days? The real question is how many of these people will by playing with their Kinect in six months? The PlayStation Move lasted me two months before it was time to return it. That was one expensive rental. Almost as expensive as it would have been to buy the 3D Sony TV for the optimal experience of Sony Gaming.

I still have my doubts about Kinect. I haven't heard a word about any interesting Kinect games since Dance Central. I'm not impressed by the million units you've sold. I want to see how many people are still Kinecting on your birthday.

Sincerely,
Errol James

P.S. I've haven't played Kinect as of the time I'm writing this. I'm not exactly running out of my lab to go buy it either. If Kinect deserves my attention it will come to me.

Nov 14, 2010

I've always wondered what life would be like as a successful rapper. How much would the day I signed my record deal change my life? How does it feel when you're single is number one, and your ringtones are platinum? I also wonder about the stress that comes with the life. How would I convince the world to take me seriously as an artist? Kanye fought that stigma by using the last 7 minutes of his debut album The College Dropout to explain his come up as an artist. He describes the frustration he had with convincing the world that a man wearing a pink Polo Shirt was the Greatest Rapper of All Time. Yeah I said it. I learned about how he almost signed to Capital Records, but had deal was taken away at the last minute. Kanye West went on to sign to Rocafella Records and the rest is history.

Soulja Boy is the first artist from the Internet to become a success in the music industry. The ability to watch his career from his the days of walking aimlessly around WalMart to riding a Lamborghini chain speaks volumes to me. He introduced me to the black diamonds trend that was in before the diamond encrusted bottom teeth. Soulja Boy is rocking canary diamonds now and they are oh so pretty. Justin Bieber even showed respect by making a song with him. We'll probably never see it performed live, but it exists. Which direction Soulja Boy's career is going next is anybody's guess.

Some speculate his scandal involving Kat Stacks was the beginning of the end for Soulja Boy's career. Pretty Boy Swag was hot, but it wasn't exactly a hit outside of Atlanta. Nothing wrong with that. He could do shows in the South and Midwest once his career slows down. Maybe the Kat Stacks scandal was a blessing in disguise. Kat Stacks is allegedly getting deported back to Venezula, and is also allegedly pregnant with Soulja Boy's child. Do I smell a marriage? Kat Stacks did say she wanted to be with a boss. Ha, but if Soulja Boy is to fail then they'd both be off the radar which would make the haters happy. All he needs is that hit single.

The journey will become clearer after his third album The DeAndre Way is in stores November 30. How many fans are going to support this album? His last album iSouljaBoyTellEm sold less than 50,000 units first week and eventually sold over 250,000 units. Not exactly the platinum sales of his first album SouljaBoyTellEm.com. He was doomed to be a one hit wonder with his single "Crank That," but he has a powerful friend, YouTube. He used it to fight his record labels, Interscope Records, decision to promote the single Bird Walk by promoting his song "iDance." The single never took off, but you can see the drive Soulja Boy had to win. With disappointing first week sales haters were certain Soulja Boy would be remembered as a one hit wonder. That was when Soulja Boy went in with a Kiss. "Kiss Me Thru The Phone" featuring Sammy became a hit single peaking at #3 on the Hot 100. The single went on to sell over 2 million digital downloads. He followed that up with the top 20 hit "Turn My Swag On" which he premiered in a video on YouTube of his first platinum plaque. Was this moment the peak of Soulja Boy's career?

He's still a force in the rap game. He's got over 2.4 million followers on Twitter which is not too shabby. He's starring in a movie directed by Nick Cannon that's expected to be released next year. He also has a book titled Teenage Millionaire that is expected to be released the same day as his album. I'm interested in grabbing a copy to see what the young entrepreneur has to say for himself. Wherever Soulja Boy's career is going he'll always have YouTube to document the journey. Kids might one day be studying his YouTube videos for college courses. Maybe they'll inspire the next success story that's out there. The Internet is a blessing. Soulja Boy proved that.